Eric Wright's injury creates concern in thin Bucs secondary

The Bucs know they likely can’t continue to win in spite of secondary that is giving up a disconcerting amount of yardage on a weekly basis.

But with cornerback Eric Wright missing most of Sunday’s game after re-injuring his Achilles, things remain shaky in the defensive backfield.

Coach Greg Schiano said the team felt confident Wright was ready to return after practicing last week. He had missed practice the previous week because of the Achilles but had not missed any games.

It remains to be seen whether that changes after the episode in the first quarter of Sunday’s win against the Chargers.

“It’s a continuation of what he was dealing with,” Schiano said. “He practiced last week, so I really thought he was going to be fine. But then he re-tweaked it. He played well up until he did it. He had a nice (tackle for loss) and it was good to have him going.”

That’s when word came.

Team trainer “Todd (Toriscelli) came up to me and told me, ‘It doesn’t look like you’re going to have him today.’ So I just said let’s keep going. It changed things. Compliments to the guys who jumped right in there and played. That’s what you have to do.”

After the recent trade of cornerback Aqib Talib, Wright is clearly the Bucs’ top cornerback. And the lack of depth in the secondary is only exacerbated if Wright is lost for any length of time.

The good news is the Bucs defense has offset its league-worst average in passing yardage with 15 interceptions, third-most in the NFL. The Bucs got two more on Sunday with Leonard Johnson and LeQuan Lewis – both undrafted free agents – picking off Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers.

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